We all want to have faith in God

October 10, 2008|By, ROBERT E. LIND

Faith in God is something we all seek. Faith is basic to our religion. The Bible has much to say about it. “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” “According to your faith be it done unto you.” There are many other references to our faith.

All these statements about faith are positive ones. With all the fears there are in our lives and in the world, faith in God is a rock upon which we can depend. To have inner faith is to have inner peace. Having faith in God does not mean there will be no tragedies in our lives. We will still suffer. What it does provide us is not an absence of trouble but a way through the problems and heartaches we will experience.

First, faith is not that we be gullible. We don’t believe everything we read in the newspaper and see on television. We don’t believe the wild claims made by some medicine companies. We don’t really believe that this exercise machine is going to make us look like the pretty girls or strong men in the ads.

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In the same way, in religion we should use discretion. We must not think that the demands of faith means we have to believe everything spoken in pious words. We have to approach religion with a discerning, but open mind. Many things I believe and understand today I did not years ago. Religion is a growing, alive, experience. I very much believe God unravels his mysteries of life only as we are ready to accept them, and not before. Never believe we know it all. God surprises us from time to time.

So what is faith? To have faith in God is not to believe only that God exists. To have faith means doing the much harder thing of trusting God and his ways as the basis of our lives. To have faith in God takes courage. It takes trust and commitment. We need to believe and act as though faith will deliver us from the feeling of hopelessness. To have faith is to seek to do what God wants us to do as we understand it.

Faith is going through life knowing that no matter what happens, God loves us. It is knowing he watches over us and gives us the assurance he will be with us. It is looking at the future and seeing light instead of darkness. It is hope in things to come. It is never ceasing to wonder at the mystery and marvel at his inflowing love. It is experiencing the constant newness of life.

Our problem is not, “Shall we walk in faith.” Each one of us, whether we want to or not, exercises faith in something every day. The real question is, “What shall we have faith in?” Christian faith exists because Christianity has a conviction about God that gives, beyond everything else, assurance and power for living.

In her book, Understanding the Christian Faith, Gloria Harkness wrote: “Faith is the union of trusting confidence and courageous action with response to God’s leading, and all these with the insight that lights the way to truth. It is this combination that makes Christian faith such a powerful source. Our world, far from having outgrown it, desperately needs more. Faith is not all there is of religion, but without it we shall have neither saving hope nor conquering love.”